Download fullerton arboretum - Alvarado Intermediate School

Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
FULLERTON ARBORETUM
Welcome to the Fullerton Arboretum!
*Please stay on the paths, and do not pick anything from the plants and trees. Nothing should be
removed from the arboretum. Please return this guide to the office.*
The arboretum is a place where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for
scientific and educational purposes. The arboretum is laid out according to the water
requirements of the plants. The west side encompasses moisture-requiring plants ranging from
the conifers to the tropical area. The central section contains horticultural and historical
plantings. The east side is the dry side ranging from the thorn forest to the Mediterranean,
desert, Channel Islands, and Chaparral. The Fullerton Arboretum covers 26 acres, five under
development. It opened to the public in 1979.
START your tour at the waterfall and bridge just inside the front entrance. The waterfall was
made from a mold taken from an actual waterfall in the Sierra Nevada. Water flows through
streams and two ponds to a pump, then flows back underground.
Stop at the Drought Tolerant Slope (left of the path as you continue into the arboretum).
These plants require little water, and for that reason are good choices for local gardens and
slopes. They also help prevent soil erosion and slides during rains.
Draw and give the name of TWO plants within the Drought Tolerant area.
Continue to the right on the path past the pond and across the Second Bridge, walking north.
Conifer Section (1)
Evergreens do not drop all their leaves at one time and thus can photosynthesize all year round.
Deciduous trees drop their leaves, usually in winter, which saves the energy necessary to
sustain the leaves through difficult periods.
Conifers are so-named because they are cone-bearing. Seed in cones are wind-pollinated.
Conifers have become adapted to harsh conditions. The leaves of conifers are in the form of
needles that do not tear apart in the winds. The needles are tough and waxy, cutting down on
water evaporation, and they are less sensitive to cold. Since most conifers don't drop their leaves
all at once, they can photosynthesize all year round. Three varieties, including the Dawn
Redwood and Bald Cyprus, are deciduous and lose their needles in winter.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!
Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
Pond (2)
Look for ducks and Coots in the pond. Ducks have broad bills and webbed feet. Male ducks are
colorful, which enables them to attract mates but prevents their sitting on the nest to help are
colorful, which enables them to attract mates but prevents their sitting on the nest to help hatch
the eggs. Female ducks are drab and thus camouflaged. Most ducks here are Mallards, with
occasional smaller Wood Ducks. There is a pair of Buff Orpington’s. Grey-black Coots have
pointed white beaks and lobed green toes. Male and female Coots have the same coloring, and
both help hatch eggs and care for young. Ducks, Coots, and Red-winged Blackbirds build nests
in cattails and reeds.
Why would ducks and birds want to make their nests in the cattails?
Cattail seeds are airborne and root when they land in shallow water or moist places. You
might see a great blue heron, great white egret, or smaller herons hunting for fish among
the reeds. The pond contains mosquito fish, koi, catfish and Western Pond Turtles.
Near the pond is a Giant Sequoia tree (Sequoiadendron gigantea). Sequoias, which are
endemic to California and grow on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, are the largest trees
in the world (mass), not the tallest.
Redwood Area (3)
The Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is the California state tree, and it grows to be the
tallest tree in the world. Redwoods have needles, while the Giant Sequoia has scale-like leaves.
Coast Redwoods generally grow in fog belt areas along the northern California coast. They
require quite a bit of water and can get as much as 40 inches of water a year from fog drip alone.
It is a fast growing tree. Understory plants are in their shade.
Pick up a leaf (a group of needles) from the ground
and make an etching in the box. In order to make the
etching, put the leaf under the paper and rub your
pencil over it. BE SURE TO return the leaf to the ground.
Bamboo
The giant bamboo, which is in the grass family, grows in S.W. Asia, where some forests are
composed of nothing but bamboo. Smaller bamboo is near the bridge closest to the lake.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!
Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
Cross the bridge to the Prehistoric Area (4)
On the hill across the stream are Cycads (Sago Palms), Dawn Redwoods, and Ginkgo trees. The
ancestors of all these trees were on earth when the dinosaurs roamed. They are all cone- bearing
seed plants which have been able to adapt to changes in their environment. Another plant on the
hill is the magnolia, which has a very primitive flower form.
What type of vascular plant is a cycad? (angiosperm or gymnosperm) EXPLAIN how you
know.
Deciduous Tree Hill (5) (Center area)
In order to survive harsh winters, the sap of deciduous trees goes to the roots, where it is
stored. Leaves are dropped, which conserves energy, and the tree goes dormant and stops
photosynthesizing for the season. In the spring the stored food reserves produce the new
leaves. (Maple syrup is boiled-down sap from maple trees.) Some of the trees here are from the
Eastern United States, while others are from different parts of the world. Many flowers grow
from bulbs in this section in the spring and summer.
Go back to the west road across the next bridge. Along the stream that empties into the lake is a
large corkscrew willow tree. (6)
Lake (7) (really a larger pond)
Several different species of palms grow beside the lake. These palms need more water than
desert palms. The Fishtail palms bloom over several seasons, or years, then die.
Coral Trees (14, 15) (east side of lake)
These colorful, ornamental trees are natives of both the old and new world tropics. Most of the
flowers are tubular and appear before or just as the tree leafs out.
Thorn Forest (16, 17) (Follow the path on the far east side of the lake.)
Most of the plants here are adapted to summer-wet, winter-dry climates and are from
Australia, Africa, and South America. Environmental adaptations include tough, tiny leaves.
Thorns have developed to discourage herbivores such as giraffes, kangaroos, etc. Many of these
plants are acacias, members of the legume family, with seed pods.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!
Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
The Ross Silk Tree has lovely white blossoms and large seed pods that look like avocados. When
the pods open, puffs of cottony kapok carry the round black seeds through the air. Before the
advent of synthetics, kapok was used for pillow stuffing.
Draw and give the name of 2 of the trees in this area.
Rain Forest area (18) (past the north end of the lake)
The huge Ombu tree is an herbaceous plant from Argentina, a giant woody herb belonging to the
pokeweed family. The Ombu grows very quickly and is no older than other trees in the
arboretum. It is said that the leaves have insect repellant qualities and that the gauchos (cowboys)
would take advantage of this trait when they rested under the tree. The two large Cordia trees
(which belong to the Bignonia family) are clustered with the Ombu to create a canopy that gives
the feeling of being in a rainforest. The lush understory includes small palms, bamboos,
bromeliads, ferns, philodendrons, heliconias and other shade-loving plants. Epiphytes, such as
bromeliads, orchids, ferns and tillandsias, are air plants and grow on the Cordia trees.
Give me the name of a plant that you find interesting in this section and a brief reason why.
Palms (19) (north of the deciduous trees)
The palm is not a true tree. It is one of the few woody monocots. Some palms grow to be very
tall, some grow in clumps, and leaf bases can form a cross-hatched pattern. Palms are extremely
important to the survival of the people who live where they grow. They were much used by
Indians and early settlers. The fronds are fibrous. Dates and coconuts
grow on certain palms, and sugars and starches can be extracted from some palm trunks.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!
Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
Succulents (20) (to the west of the palms)
Succulents are drought resistant plants which store moisture in their pulpy stems and leaves.
Succulents may have a waxy or tough epidermis to cut down on water transpiration and can be
light-colored to reflect the heat of the sun. Continue north along the road. You may want to stop
in the Children's Garden on the left.
We have many succulents in Alvarado’s garden. Briefly describe ONE of the adaptations
these plants have to living in the desert.
Desert (21)
Euphorbia’s from Old World deserts and cacti from New World deserts are examples of
convergent evolution. (Euphorbia’s have a milky sap that can be poisonous.) In these areas with
like environments, plants have developed similar adaptive qualities.
Many desert plants have developed protective measures against high and low temperatures,
strong winds, little water, and poor soil. Some adaptations are: 1) thick, waxy skin, 2) accordion
shapes which expand and contract with available water, 3) spines as protection against nibbling
creatures, 4) a lack of leaves altogether or small drought-deciduous leaves, 5) chlorophyll in
trunks to enable year-round photosynthesizing, 6) white spines, particularly at the growing point
on top to reflect sun, 7) spines to collect dew and rainwater and direct it to roots, 8) either many
shallow roots to gobble water quickly or roots that are regenerated when water is available, 9)
and finally, flat tough leaves that track the sun, with the narrowest edge. Indians used the barrel
cactus to cook in and made thread with the built-in needles.
Continue left on the road to the Channel Islands, our newest exhibit. The sign there will
describe this area.
Chaparral Hill (22)
Fire is an important feature in the life cycle of chaparral plants. Chaparral grows in dense
thickets. Many plants have volatile oils in their leaves, and debris builds up because our dry
climate does not break down the old leaves, grasses, twigs and branches as a wetter climate
would. Fire rejuvenates chaparral. Plants have learned to adapt to fire. At the base of the hill near
the dry wash are some Valley Oaks, which have deeply lobed leaves.
Several kinds of sage and a variety of flowers are on the hill.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!
Be sure to take a picture of yourself AT the arboretum to attach to the assignment!
We live in a chaparral climate. List the plants in this area you have seen before.
Fruit Trees (24)
Along the service road across from Chaparral Hill are varieties of temperate fruit trees.
There are also nut trees and persimmons.
List the fruit trees that are flowering or growing fruit.
The map is just for reference. The numbers on the map and the guide do NOT match!!